Posts from May 2017

Today, I will be sending out a new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on growing joyful learners, mainly bookworms, but also mathematicians and learners of all types. The newsletter is sent out every two to three weeks.

Newsletter Update: In this issue I have four book reviews (all picture books, but I have more variation coming up soon) and one post with my daughter's latest literacy milestone (having her own genre preference). I also have two posts with links that I shared recently on Twitter, and one that highlights a couple of joy of learning-related articles in more detail.

Reading Update: In the last two weeks I finished three early chapter books, four middle grade novels, four young adult novels, and one adult novel. I was lucky enough to have a three day weekend to myself over Memorial Day weekend, which I dedicated to reading and reviewing books. I read/listened to:

Rebecca Elliott: Owl Diaries #1: Eva's Treetop Festival. Scholastic Branches. Early Chapter Book/Notebook Novel. Completed May 24, 2017, print ARC. Read aloud to my daughter, after she had read it herself and liked it so much that she wanted me to read it to her again. I have ordered her the next couple of books in the series.

I'm happy to have so many reviews scheduled of middle grade and YA titles. As most of my reads this weekend were ARCs, some of the reviews will not be coming out until later in the summer, closer to publication. I'm currently listening to Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards and reading Bodyguard #3: Hijack by Chris Bradford.

I'm also happy to report that after struggling a bit to find our next read-together book, my daughter and I have settled in with Clementine by Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee. I've been a fan of Clementine for years now (see my 10-year-old review of the first book), and am delighted that my daughter appreciates her, too. And yes, she could probably read Clementine on her own, but we are enjoying sharing Clementine's exploits together.

You can find my daughter's 2017 reading list here. She's been a reading machine of late, plowing through titles in bed, in the car, on vacation, and any old time she has a few minutes to spare. The Owl Diaries book referenced above was her introduction to notebook novels, and she is already asking for more of those.

As for me, I'm working quietly in the background to make sure that the books that she wants next are there when she needs them. This is no small task, even for one who has as many books as I do, because of course she wants particular books. Like the Babysitters Club graphic novels, and further titles in the Dr. KittyCat series (introduced to us by Karen Yingling). Fortunately, I am up to the challenge (and having a great time).

Good Morning, Grizzle Grump! is the sequel to Good Night, Grizzle Grump!, both by Aaron Blecha. In the first book, brown bear Grizzle Grump is ready to hibernate, but has trouble because the other animals keep making too much noise. In this installment, Grizzle Grump has woken up from his long nap and is hungry. He sets out with his friend Squirrel to look for food. But every time he finds and gathers food (berries, fish, etc.), other bears sneak off with it while Grizzle Grump's back is turned. He gets hungrier and hungrier and grumpier and grumpier, right up until he discovers a surprise bear picnic. Then he eats so much that he's ready to go to sleep again.

This is a fun book to read aloud, with lots of sound effects and silliness. Here's a snippet.

There's a "HEE HEE HEE" from Squirrel, hiding in a picnic basket. While Grizzle Grump is distracted by Squirrel, we glimpse three sets of paws reaching out for Grizzle Grump's huge pile of berries. On the next page:

""HEY!Come backhere with myBERRIES!"

With a gurgling!And a gargling!

Grizzle Grump and his emptytummy stomp off in search ofanother springtime snack."

This dynamic is repeated with only minor variations in text as Grizzle Grump finds fish and bugs. The repetition will likely be pleasing for preschool-age listeners, though adults may tire of it on repeat readings.

Blecha's colorful illustrations are cheerful and dynamic. Grizzle Grump's dismay as his food is stolen is palpable in his expression as well as his physical response (jumping up and shaking). There are hints to look for that more astute readers will notice, such a a wink exchanged between Squirrel and the thieves. I thought that the other round-eyed bears looked rather, well, not so bright, shall we say? But they are certainly having a good time, and young readers will, too. Fans of Good Night, Grizzle Grump! will not want to miss Grizzle Grump's further adventures.

Here are highlights from the links that I shared on Twitter this week @JensBookPage. Topics for this relatively light week include #BookLists, #STEM, #SummerReading, bullying, coding, First Book, growing bookworms, math, parenting, reading culture, reluctant readers, schools, and time management. And speaking of time management, I wish everyone a Memorial Day weekend spent doing whatever means start of summer to you. As for me, I'll be sitting outside reading just as much as I can.

Shorty & Clem is the story of two friends. Shorty is a relatively short dinosaur and Clem is a quail. They apparently live together. One day while Clem is out, a package arrives for him. Shorty is achingly curious about the contents of the package (wrapped in cheerful spotted paper). He doesn't feel right opening it, but, well, bouncing it, thumping on it, and other activities prove irresistible. Eventually Shorty succumbs to temptation and opens the package, finding something delightful. But he has to face the music when Clem comes home. Or does he?

This book reminded me very much of the Elephant & Piggie books (with Shorty taking the role or Elephant), albeit with a hint more text, and obviously very different illustrations. For example, on one page spread Shorty says:

"I will drive it!"

He looks gleeful (if somewhat demented), sitting on the package. Then there's a page of sound effects: "VROOM, VROOOM, VROOOOM" "screetch" "CRASH!" as he drives the box/car around. I could just hear Gerald the Elephant saying "I will eat the ice cream!" under similar circumstance.

But, you know, someone does have to fill the void left by the retirement of Elephant and Piggie. And Shorty and Clem are dynamic and funny. Michael Slack's exclamation-filled text is read-aloud friendly, with plenty of opportunities for drama. And the colorful characters are visually engaging. Clem, I think, is especially cute, with his big round eyes. (I'm not sure why Clem is male, to tell the truth, as he is basically wearing pumps, but whatever.)

I think that Shorty & Clem could work well for a storytime read-aloud for preschoolers, or as an early reader for primary-age kids. Slack nicely captures the desperation that young kids feel when they have to wait to open a present. Oh, the suffering! Shorty's creative uses of the simple box are also inspired. I would not be at all surprised to see these two characters repackaged into an early reader format, and having further adventures. In any event, my daughter and I enjoyed them in picture book format. Recommended.

I ran across two articles about nurturing the joy of learning last week. The first was about how schools should NOT assign mandatory summer reading, something with which I agree strongly. The second was about the importance of nurturing a joy of writing in students, in addition to a joy of reading. This was a good reminder to me, the mother of a child who declares herself a writer. I hope you find these articles useful.

John Warner: "As someone who loves and values books and reading and also has been teaching college writing for the past 16 years, I have a request: Please don't do that [send home required reading lists].

Seems paradoxical, I know. Why would a book lover like me discourage schools from requiring students to read over the summer?

Nurturing good reading habits is a long game, and whenever we tether reading to school, we hinder, rather than help, students. The National Counsel of Teachers of English has a list of best practices when it comes to effective reading instruction, including this: "Provide daily opportunities for students to read books of their own choice at school."

I'd like to add a personal recommendation: When not in school, let students read whatever the heck they want."

Me: I agree with John Warner 100%. I think it's fine to provide lists of titles that kids might enjoy, as a helpful tool. But to me, summer reading for kids, as it usually is for adults, should be about reading whatever is of interest at that particular moment. Comic strips, books of amazing facts, instruction manuals, notebook novels, verse novels, series titles, etc., etc., etc.

Monica Edinger: "All of this informs my beliefs when it comes to teaching writing to 4th graders. These include:

Creating situations where students feel invested in their writing

That they have audiences

That they find joy in the work

That they understand that there are many different ways and reasons to write — some being completely private, some to figure out a problem, and more.

Of late my impression is that writing instruction in schools is highly driven by testing, common core curriculum, packaged programs, and consultants."

Me: Monica shares an early experience in school that harmed her confidence in her writing for years, and discusses how that experience informed her methods of teaching writing today. She also shares her responses to Ralph Fletcher's new book on "cultivating high-impact, low-stakes writing." This post really struck me because my daughter right now loves to write. But I do worry that emphasis on structure and spelling and the like will take away that joy as she gets older. Monica's post made me realize that in addition to my efforts to keep reading at home as joyful an experience for my daughter as possible, I need to do the same thing with writing. I certainly intend to try!

I thought that Go Sleep in Your Own Bed! would be one of those books designed to encourage kids to, well, sleep in their own beds, instead of with Mom and Dad. But if that is the point that Candace Fleming is trying to make, she has an unusually subtle approach. Instead, Go Sleep in Your Own Bed is a silly tale in which a succession of animals each attempts to go to bed, finds someone else in the bed, kicks out said someone else, and then goes to sleep. Then we proceed to the next page spread, where that kicked out animal also finds his or her bed taken. This structure is repeated half a dozen times. There is a mild surprise at the end when the final animal is offered the choice to sleep in someone else's bed.

What made this book work for me was Fleming's use of apt descriptive language. Like this:

"Oh, w-w-w-h-o-o-o-a is me," whickered Horse. And he shambled to his stable, cloppety-plod.

But when he settled down--Mehhhhh!Who do you think he found?

(next page)

"Get up!"whinnied Horse."Go sleep in yourown bed!"

For a book with so little text, those are some great descriptive words. "Whickered", "shambled", "clopety-plod". And of course there is a hint in "Mehhhhh" about what the next animal is going to be. Vocabulary-building and read-aloud friendly!

Lori Nichols' illustrations add humor on every page, from chicken feathers flying everywhere when the chickens try to evict a horse to the expression of righteous indignation on the face of the horse when he finds a sheepish sheep in his bed. She also includes visual hints of what the next animal will be (e.g. a bunch of shaggy wool that looks like a mop, in the above example), making it more fun for younger listeners to guess the next animal. She uses dim backgrounds throughout, and closes the book with a cozy nighttime scene perfect for saying "Goodnight" to young listeners.

Go Sleep in Your Own Bed! is a comforting bedtime read, perfect for preschoolers. There's enough interesting vocabulary to keep primary listeners engaged, too, and enough silliness that it could also work as part of a farm sounds unit for a school or library storytime. Definitely worth a look, for libraries and families! Recommended!

I've always tried to give my daughter choice in what we read, of course. And she's always had preferences for particular books, and, eventually, particular authors and illustrators. When she was younger, I would let her pick whatever she liked from the library, even if that meant a whole stack of TV tie-in paperbacks. But recently, for the first time, she identified herself as a fan of a particular genre. Someone asked her what she likes to read and she said: "I'm really into graphic novels." To me, this is a milestone because she's defining herself as a person who likes to read a particular type of book. She's starting to understand her own preferences, and seek out the things that work for her.

This incident also stood out for me because, well, I'm not particularly into graphic novels. I enjoy some of the ones for younger readers, particularly Babymouse and Lunch Lady. But I'm not a very visually-oriented person, and for longer, more complex stories I prefer text. Shifting my focus between the words and the pictures in a graphic novel is a distraction for me.

But my daughter! She adores graphic novels. I've written before of her love for Lunch Lady by Jarrett Krosoczka, and for Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham. She's also reading the Knights of the Lunch Table series and the Babysitters' Club full color graphic novel editions. She loves them all. She stays up late reading them, reads them in the car, and talks about them with whoever will listen. At this point, she prefer realistic graphic novels to fantasy [Zita the Spacegirl didn't work for her, for example], but I can imagine that changing in the future. We'll have to wait and see. Right now, I'm just celebrating that she knows what she likes, and seeks it out.

The other night I left a new graphic novel on her bed. I said: "I think you'll like this one." She said: "Is there a graphic novel in this book? Then, YES, I will like it." (Awkward phrasing, but she was trying to quote the scene in Elf where he says he likes sugar.)

Me, I like mysteries and post-apocalyptic stories. My daughter's preferences will likely evolve as she gets older. But right now she is doing what readers do, figuring out what she enjoys, and then asking for more.

Here are highlights from the links that I shared on Twitter this week @JensBookPage. The roundup is relatively short this week because I had some travel, and wasn't able to spend much time with Twitter. Topics I did share include: #audiobooks, #BookADay, #PoetLaureate, #SummerReading, bedtime reading, book awards, reading aloud, reading parties, and science fiction.

I like the previous books about Enzo very much (see reviews here and here). But Enzo and the Fourth of July Races I LOVE. Enzo is a cute little dog who lives with a girl named Zoe and her race car driver dad, Denny. The books are told from Enzo's perspective. In this installment, Enzo accompanies Zoe and Denny to Pine Cone Speedway for the Fourth of July Races. Denny will be competing as usual. And Zoe will be competing for her first time in the Kids' Kart Challenge. If she can overcome the hit to her confidence that comes from overhearing a boy scoff at the idea of a girl competing, that is.

There's so much to love about this book. It's about how you need to have confidence in yourself to succeed, and how no one else can give that to you externally. It's about the rewards of working hard, and about how you should pay attention to people who might have useful information (even if they are not in conventionally "important" positions). And it's about how girls can, in fact, accomplish anything they set out to do.

Of course regular readers know that I am very sensitive to books that are didactic. But Enzo and the Fourth of July Races manages to teach these growth mindset-inspired lessons without the tiniest hint of being message-y. I think Garth Stein pulls this off by keeping the viewpoint of the book squarely in Enzo's determined paws. Enzo isn't capable of thinking in didactic terms, and readers won't be, either. Enzo is just observing what Zoe and Denny do, with a few reflections on how they feel, and trying to figure out how he can support his family. It's brilliant.

The book also highlights fun aspects of the fact that the narrator is a dog. Enzo has learned a bit about people since his puppy days, but he still has a decidedly dog-centric view of the world. Like this:

"This is what I love about the racetrack: the roar of engines, the smell of fuel and rubber, the dirt on everyone's faces, and the look of intensity in their eyes as they work on their cars to make them the fastest of the weekend.

And I also like that sometimes someone drops a hot dog and doesn't notice."

There's also a great spread in which Zoe and Denny are both qualifying at the same time. Enzo runs back and forth between them until he is tired and panting, observing: "They don't realize how much work it is for me to look after them!" You just have this feeling that dogs really think that way.

R. W. Alley's illustrations of Enzo and his family are warm and pleasing. The illustrator of recent Paddington books brings the shaggy Enzo to life perfectly.

One other thing I love about this book is what a great dad Denny is. When Zoe (temporarily) backs out of the Go Kart race he tells her: "A wise man once told me there is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose." But he also tells her: " I respect your decision, and I love you whether or not you race." I kind of wanted to hug him right there.

Enzo and the Fourth of July Races is long and text-dense for a picture book. I would recommend it more for first and second graders than for younger kids. Despite being long, to me (and I am not at all patient these days) it didn't drag on at all. Every page and paragraph was necessary to the plot. Because the vocabulary is relatively straightforward, I think it could work as a read-alone book for first or second graders, or for a classroom read-aloud (perhaps over a couple of days). Certainly my first grader had no hesitation whatsoever in assigning Enzo and the Fourth of July Races to the "write about this book" stack.

Enzo and the Fourth of July Races is a new favorite in our household. Highly recommended for home or school use!

Today, I will be sending out a new issue of the Growing Bookworms email newsletter. (If you would like to subscribe, you can find a sign-up form here.) The Growing Bookworms newsletter contains content from my blog focused on growing joyful learners, mainly bookworms, but also mathematicians and learners of all types. The newsletter is sent out every two to three weeks.

Newsletter Update: In this issue I have five book reviews (picture book through young adult) and one post with my daughter's latest literacy milestone (staying up too late reading). I also have two posts with links that I shared recently on Twitter.

Reading Update: In the last two weeks I finished two middle grade novels, two adult novels, and one adult nonfiction title. I read/listened to:

Shannon Hale (ill. LeUyen Pham): Real Friends. First Second. Middle Grade Graphic Novel. Completed May 16, 2017. Read aloud to me by my daughter, who loves this book madly, and is now reading it on her own for a third time. She loves discussing it with me ("Which parts are your favorite?" "Why do you think X did Y?" etc.). Highly, highly recommended - this is going to become a go-to birthday gift book for us.

William Kent Krueger:Boundary Waters (Cork O'Connor, No. 2). Atria Books. Adult Mystery. Completed May 4, 2017, on MP3. This series is holding up for me so far, and I have downloaded book 3.

Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. Knopf. Adult Nonfiction. Completed May 15, 2017, on Kindle. This is a very powerful book. I read it partly because I'm interested in Sandberg's story and partly as an aid to building my own resilience. It delivered on both fronts.

I'm currently listening to Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane and reading Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen. I have a weekend coming up when I should be able to get some good reading done, and I have both physical and Kindle stacks waiting.

My most positive reading experience lately by far was having my daughter read Real Friends (see above) aloud to me. We were (for the most part) cozy on the couch reading together. I could help her with words she didn't understand (though I accepted her somewhat unconventional pronunciation of various names). We could stop and discuss the behaviors that she didn't understand. (The toughest thing was young Shannon's older sister being made more angry by an apology from her saintly younger sibling.) We noted resemblances to things in the Princess in Black books. We discussed what we would have done in X or Y situation. And we just enjoyed the book. It was wonderful.

You can find my daughter's 2017 reading list here. She especially enjoys realistic graphic novels these days. El Deafo by Cece Bell was also a hit. I would especially love suggestions for realistic graphic novels for which the themes are not too advanced for a first grader (I'm fine with stretching her on vocabulary, but she's not really ready to read about dating, etc.).

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex, is the dramatic origin saga of the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. It is set in the mysterious land of a suburban home. Readers first meet Rock, who lives in the Kingdom of Backyard. Rock defeats all challengers by pummeling them. Rock, however, feels let down by the lack of "a worthy foe." A similar situation faces Paper, who dominates his Empire of Mom's Home Office, and Scissors, who dwells in the Kitchen Realm, in the "tiny village of Junk Drawer." As each warrior sets out in search of more equal challengers, the three heroes meet"in the great cavern of Two-Car Garage." Astute readers will be able to predict what happens from here.

The text of The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors is over-the-top and read-aloud friendly, full of dramatic exclamations as well as more subtle wordplay. Like this:

"They called her Scissors,and she was the fastest blade inall the land. She, too, was unchallenged.On this day, her first opponent was a strange and sticky circle-man.

We have classic adventure lingo, like "fastest blade in all the land" as well as "you tacky and vaguely round monstrosity" (describing a roll of cellophane tape). This is a book that simply begs to be read aloud, and will make kids and adults smile. There's also a scene in which Rock tells an apricot that he looks like a "fuzzy little butt", which will have listeners chortling (though things do not end well for the "odd and delicious fruit").

This is a longer text at 48 fairly busy pages, however, and will work better for the K-3 set than for preschoolers, I think. It also might be a bit long for library storytime. But for reading at home, The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors is hard to beat.

Adam Rex's bold illustrations bring the three unconventional main characters, and their opponents, to quirky life. Even the elements of a half-eaten bag of trail mix have individual, frightened expressions when confronted by the bold Paper. My favorite is Scissors, though. Her two green loops look like eyes within eyeglasses, expressive and shiny.

My seven year old gave this one two thumbs up and a "Yes, you'll have to write about this one, Mommy." And so I have. The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors is pure fun, and a must-read for fans of Daywalt's Crayons books. Read it, and you'll never play Rock, Paper, Scissors in quite the same way. Highly recommended and a must-purchase for libraries.

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All posts on this site are (c) 2006-2017 by Jennifer Robinson. All rights reserved. I also specifically reserve the right to delete comments made on this blog for any reason, particularly if they contain blatantly commercial or offensive language, and/or do not contribute to the discussion at hand. I reserve the right to delete promotional material included within the text of comments.

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